Parachute carrier toy



Aug. 3%, 1960 w. E. HIDDING 1 2,950,887 PARACHUTE. CARRIER TOY Filed Aug. 11. 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l ENTOR. 54

4 5E dm/fw 1960 w. E. HlDDlNG 2,950,887,

PARACHUTE CARRIER TOY Filed Aug. 11, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w .4 5 56 5B Z4 INVENTOR.

1960 w. E. HIDDING 2,950,887

PARACHUTE CARRIER TOY Filed Aug. 11, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

PARACHUTE CARRIER TOY Walter E. Hidding, Arlington Heights, 111. Blackhawk Molding Co. Inc., Addison, 111.)

Filed Aug. 11, 1958, Ser. No. 754,201

9 Claims. Cl. 244-155 This invention relates generally to a device for use with kites, and more particularly relates to a parachute and a carrier attachment to be used therewith in conjunction with flying kites.

Parachute release devices made heretofore have all been complicated in nature because of the plurality of parts which were used in their construction. Further, these devices have been usually made of a combination of wood and metal or cardboard and metal which have made them expensive to manufacture both from a raw material standpoint and an assembly standpoint.

An object of the present invention is to provide a parachute carrier device for use with flying kites that is made preferably from plastic or other forms of moldable material.

Another object of the present invention is to produce the aforementioned structure from a material that has a low coefficient of friction such as, for example, plastic, so that with repeated uses of the carrier on the kite string there is little or no wear thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device as set forth above which is designed so that its weight characteristics are properly distributed'to afford rapid return of the carrier after release of a parachute or similar object from same and which can be also readily pulled up the string of a flying kite by the use of the open parachute to a point of release.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a carrying device as heretofore outlined wherein the major portion of the mechanism relating to the release of the parachute is located within the device thereby avoiding jamming or tangling of the mechanism with the string along which it runs.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved parachute and method of making same for use with the carrier device.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon study of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a flying kite with an embodiment of the invention positioned on the kite string;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the invention shown in Fig. l in enlarged form;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the means for holding and releasing parachutes or other objects;

Fig. 4 is a side view on enlarged scale showing a portion of the carrier device and an abutment on the string for triggering the release mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the carrier shown in Fig. 2 showing the parts of the carrier in operating arrangement for carrying a parachute;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the nose portion of the carrier device shown in Fig. 2 showing the position of the release mechanism after the parachute has been released;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2 showing another embodiment of the invention;

ice

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the carrier shown in Fig. 7 in its normal arrangement for carrying a parachute and another object;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the carrier shown in Fig. 7 illustrating another embodment for attaching another object and parachute to the carrier;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the tail portion of the device shown in Fig. 8 showing an alternaitve embodiment for supporting the rear section of the object shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the parachute before setting up thereof;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of a strip of plastic sheet stock illustrating the method of manufacture of the parachute;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing the set-up parachute; and

Fig. 14 is a side view illustrating an alternative embodiment for clamping the shrouds of the parachute illustrated in Fig. 13.

Similar numerals are used throughout the drawings to identify similar parts. In Figs. 1 and 2 a carrier device comprising the primary form of the invention is shown and identified by numeral 20. The device 20 consists of a tubular body portion 22 formed of relatively thin gauge moldable material, preferably plastic, having a tail section 24, an intermediate section of reduced diameter 26, and an apertured nose section 28 of lesser diameter.

The body has a plurality of eyelets along its upper portion, there being two such eyelets in the illustrative example, identified by the numerals 30 and 32. These eyelets have shanks attached to the body and have lateral openings or discontinuities adjacent the shanks so that a string can be inserted laterally through the openings into the eyelets. This, of course, avoids threading of the string and permits rapid assembly of the carrier thereon.

The general configuration of the device 20 as disclosed herein resembles a rocket when triangularly shaped fins 34 are attached adjacent one end of tail section 24.

An elongated shiftable shaft 36 is disposed in the interior portion of body 22 and is freely movable therein. Shaft 36 extends beyond the nose section 28 and has an enlarged end portion 38. Lateral protuberance 40 on shaft 36 acts as stops to prevent shaft 36 from being forced rearwardly beyond a predetermined distance in body 22 when end 38 contacts an abutment 42 on the kite string. Contact of end 38 with abutment 42 shifts shaft 36 rearwardly and releases the parachute or other objects from the carrier 20. Additional lateral protuberances 43 are provided on shaft 36 for limiting the forward position of shaft 36 at the nose section 28 of body 22.

A bifurcated member 44 of resilient material is disposed on shaft 36 opposite a lateral aperture 46 in the body wall rearwardly of the nose section 28 and forwardly of the intermediate section 26. A corner portion 47 of body portion 48 of a parachute 49 is inserted in aperture 46 and hooked over a tine 45 of member 44 and clampingly impinged between member 44 and the adjacent body portion 28 when shaft 36 is moved toward the nose portion of body 22 as shown in Fig. 5.

A disc 50 is secured to the other end of shaft 36 for maintaining shaft 36 centrally disposed within the body 22. The shrouds 52 of parachute 49 are provided with apertures 58 (Figs. 11 and 12) for securing the shrouds to eyelet 54 on tail piece member 56. Member 56 has pins 59 on a face thereof for insertion into the interior portion of tail section 24 to releasably hold member 56 therein.

-In operation, the carrier is mounted on a kite string as previously mentioned, and the parachute is secured to the carrier 20, as best seen in Figs. 2, 5 and 6. Shaft 36 is retracted until protuberances 40 meet the outer end of nose portion 28. A corner portion 47 of parachute 48 adjacent shroud 52 is flexed and inserted through aperture 46 and hooked over time 45 of bifurcated member 44. Shaft36 is then moved forward whereby the flexed corner portion 47 of parachute 49 and shroud 52 is clampingly impinged between tine 45 and the adjacent wall'of nose section 28 as shown in Fig. 5. The apertures 58 in the ends of shrouds 52 are hooked in eyelet 54 of as shown in Fig. 5. When the parachute 49 is exposed to the wind and opened up it will be held in that position for the carrier device to be blown along the kite string toward the kite. When the end portion 38 of shaft 36 contacts abutment 42, Fig. 4, on the kite string, at any desired position along its length, the shaft 36 is pushed rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 6 thereby releasing the parachute 49 from bifurcated member 44 and at the same time dislodging member 56 from the end of tail section 24 when disc 50 impinges upon pins 59.

The parachute thereafter descends to the earth. The carrier 20 released of its parachute or other object then returns down the string to the operator. It will be readily apparent to those versed in the art of parachute release devices that the carrier is extremely simple and can be made of relatively inexpensive material.

Figs. 7-10 illustrate the use of the instant invention for carrying an additional object, such as a small model airplane, for concurrent release with the parachute.

Figs. 7 and 8 show one embodiment for supporting an additional object on carrier 20. The body 22 of the carrier 20 is provided with an additional lateral aperture 62 in the body wall of intermediate section 26. An additional releasable holding means 66, being in the form of a truncated cone in the illustrative example, is disposed on shaft 36 opposite lateral aperture 62. The shrouds 52 of parachute 49 are hooked in a wire clamp 72 in this embodiment.

Model airplane 60 having a nose section 71 and tail section 73 is provided with an elongated resilient member 64, being a simulated radio antenna in the illustrative embodiment, fixedly secured to the upper surface of the forward portion thereof. A wire clamp 68 is fixedly secured to the rudder 74?. Members 64 and 68 act as support members for supporting airplane 60 on carrier 20 during ascent on a kite string.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 7 and 8 operates in a manner similar to that shown in Figs. 1-6. Shaft 36 is retracted rearwardly bringing bifurcated member 44and conical member 66 into register with apertures 46 and 62 respectively. Corner portion 47 of body portion 48 of parachute 49 is inserted into aperture 42 and hooked over tine 45. Meanwhile clamp 68 on airplane 60 is hooked over the end of the sidewall of tail section 24 and the free end of resilient member 64 is inserted into aperture 62 and forwardly of member 66. Shaft 36 is then moved in a forward direction whereby corner portion 47 is releasably clamped between tine 45 and adjacent wall of nose section 28 and member 64 is likewise simultaneously releasably clamped between member 66 and adjacent wall of intermediate section 26. Clamp 72 with shrouds 52 secured thereto is then hooked over the end of the sidewall of tail section 24. When parachute 49 is exposed to the wind and opened up it will be held in that position for carrier 20 carrying airplane 60 to be blown along the kite string toward the kite. When end portion 38 of shaft 36 contacts abutment 42 on the kite string, the shaft 36 is pushed rearwardly whereby the corner portion 47 and member 64 are simultaneously released from their clamped positions while disc 50 is concurrently dislodging wire clamps 68 and 72. The parachute 49 and airplane 60 or similar object thereafter separately descend to the earth and the carrier returns back on the string to the operator.

An alternative embodiment for supporting the forward portion of the airplane 60 is shown in Fig. 9. A flexible member 74 is fixedly attached at one end to the airplane nose 71. The free end 75 of member 74 along with corner portion 47 of parachute 49 is clampingly held in the manner described in connection with the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-6.

Fig. 10 illustrates another embodiment for supporting the tail section of airplane 66 on carrier 20. A slot 76 is provided in the leading edge 79 of rudder 76. The carrier 2%, parachute 49, and airplane 60 are set up for operationon the kite string in the manner hereinbefore described in connection with Figs. 7 and 8 except that the end of the sidewall of tail section 24 is inserted in slot 76 in rudder 70 thereby supporting tail section 73 of airplane 60.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art of parachute release devices that various combinations of supporting means for carried objects may be used in connection with carrier 21 Although the complementary parachute which is used with the carrier may take various forms, a preferred embodiment and method of making it are described hereinafter.

The parachute 49 as shown in Fig. 11 consists of a square sheet of flexible material such as plastic or cloth having a central body portion 48. Adjacent each side thereof is a strip 52 which is integrally connected at one end to body portion 43 and separated therefrom by cut line 78. Each out line 78 parallel to the adjacent edge extends from one side of the sheet and terminates in a circular cut at portion 80 a short distance from another similar cut line. Each strip 52 is provided with an aperture 58 at the free end thereof.

Referring to Fig. 12, it will be seen that the parachute 49 may be formed from a continuous length of flexible material 82. Preferably, for ease of handling during manufacture, the cut .lines 78 may be formed by perforating the material or by forming interrupted cuts for manual separation at the time of use. The material may be fed continuously through conventional rotary cutting means whereby the cut lines 78 and apertures 58 are formed in the sheet of material. Simultaneously, the prefabricated parachute may be severed from the continuous roll as at 84. Alternatively, the flexible material may be continuously fed to stamping means wherein the prefabricated parachute may be stamped out and severed from the continuous roll.

Fig. 13 illustrates the operative position of the parachute 49 wherein the free ends of strip 52 are brought together to form shrouds when hook 54 of tail piece member 56 is passed through apertures 58. Alternatively, the free ends of shrouds 52 may be held by clamp 72 as shown in Fig. 14.

The novel parachute shown in Figs. 11-13 is of simple construction and is very economical to manufacture. As disclosed hereinbefore the body and shrouds, of the parachute may be formed from a single piece of flexible material. This type of construction permits high speed, continuous manufacture and simplified assembly for use.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A parachute carrier attachment for use with kites comprising a tubular body of substantial longitudinal extent having an apertured nose, a lateral aperture in the body wall rearwardly of the nose, means along the upper portion of said body adapted to cooperate with a kite string to permit mounting of said body on said string for movement longitudinally along said string, shiftable means longitudinally disposed in the interior portion of said body, said shiftable means comprising a shaft, means engaging said haft and said ody for guiding said shaft for longitudinal movement in said body, releasable holding means on an intermediate portion of said shaft adjacent said lateral aperture in said body and adapted in normal position to cooperate with the adjacent body portion clampingly to impinge upon a complementary parachute element mounted therein, said shiftable means extending through the apertured nose of said body and forwardly thereof and adapted to cooperate with an abutment on the kite string to shift the holding means rearwardly of said body to release the complementary parachute, and means adjacent the rear end of said body adapted to hold the shrouds of the complementary parachute during the ascent of said carrier along a kite string, said shiftable means being engageable with said shroud holding means to release said shoruds upon rearward shifting of said shiftable means.

2. A parachute carrier attachment according to claim 1 wherein said shiftable means further include stop means projecting radially from the shaft rearwardly adjacent the enlarged end portion thereof for limiting the forward and rearward movement of said shaft.

3. A parachute carrier attachment according to claim 1 wherein said body is provided with a second lateral aperture in the body wall at a central portion thereof for releasably attaching another independent member to said carrier.

4. A parachute carrier attachment according to claim 1 wherein said releasable holding means is a bifurcated member of resilient material for holding and clampingly impinging a portion of said parachute with said body.

5. A parachute carrier attachment according to claim 1 wherein said tubular body comprises a series of sections of decreasing diameter and wherein the nose portion is in the form of a truncated cone.

6. A parachute carrier attachment according to claim 1 wherein the means for attachment of the carrier to the kite string comprise a plurality of hooks integral with but spaced along a longitudinal portion of said body.

7. A parachute carrier attachment according to claim 1 wherein the entire device is made of plastic.

8. A device for use with kites comprising the combination of a carrier and a complementary parachute including a body portion and shrouds releasably carried by the carrier, said carrier comprising a tubular body of substantial longitudinal extent having an apertured nose, a lateral aperture in the body wall rearwardly of the nose for receiving a portion of said parachute, means along the upper portion of said body adapted to cooperate with a kite string to permit mounting of said carrier on said string for movement longitudinally along said string, shiftable means longitudinally disposed in the interior portion of said body, said shiftable means comprising a shaft, means engaging said shaft and said body for guiding said shaft for longitudinal movement in said body, releasable holding means on an intermediate portion of said shaft adjacent said lateral aperture in said body, said parachute having a portion thereof inserted through said lateral aperture and secured to said holding means and clampingly impinged between said holding means and adjacent body portion, said shiftable means extending through the apertured nose of said body and forwardly thereof and adapted to cooperate with an abutment on the kite string to shift the holding means rearwardly of said body to release the parachute, means at the rear end of said body releasably holding said shrouds, said shiftable means being engageable with said shroud holding means to release said shrouds upon rearward shifting of said shiftable means. 9. A device according to claim 8 further including means for releasably holding an independent member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,718,551 Fisher June 25, 1929 1,844,594 Peterson Feb. 9, 1932 1,951,864 Driggs Mar. 2 0, 1934 2,221,322 Frieder Nov. 12, 1940 2,358,417 Quilter et al. Sept. 19, 1944 2,384,187 Manson et al. Sept. 4, 1945 2,509,182 Annable May 23, 1950 2,598,030 Bird May 27, 1952 

